Planning Minister: I don’t think it could be excused

The actions that led to the death of hundreds of endangered leatherback turtle hatchlings at Grande Riviere river on the weekend should not be excused, says Planning Minister Dr Bhoe Tewarie. Speaking to the media at yesterday’s CME Entrepreneurship in Education seminar held at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, Tewarie said, “I don’t think it could be excused and I feel that the people who operated the equipment in there and the company that operated it—I don’t know if it’s the Ministry of Works, I don’t know if it is a private contractor—I think they should be held to account.”

Workmen were using excavators in remedial work to stop massive erosion of the beachfront by the Grande Riviere River, which was threatening the Mt Plaisir Hotel. Grande Riviere, best known for nesting leatherback turtles, lies on Trinidad’s north coast between Toco and Matelot.

“I think that the Government as a whole needs to address the issue of the incompatibility of policy issues which emerge. We need to get that straight. “The ministries need also to align their strategies and their actions to the policy framework within which the Government is operating.

“And there is no deviation from the fact that the policy framework is sustainable development, and we need to get in line and get on board with that issue. Even if we have made an error this time and even under the circumstances, something unfortunate took place, I think what we need to do is to get it right going forward. There has to be an insistence on that,” Tewarie said.

He said the environmental challenges are real, but added, “There is a Ministry of the Environment now. I don’t want to speak about those issues. I want to leave those to the new minister. “If you have a sustainable development framework and if you have tourism strategy that is based at least, in part, on eco-tourism, you have to be very sensitive to the actions you take and the implication of those actions.”    

Even though T&T has made good progress on sustainable development over the years, Tewarie said, many practices need to be improved, while others need attention. “Sustainable development is managing the economic aspect of your development, together with the people and community and social aspect of your development, and with respect for environmental and ecological conservation.” He said that balance was very difficult and it could only be achieved if all governmental agencies were “working in compatibility with one another.”